Obi-Wan Kenobi sliced Darth Maul in half and sent him tumbling to his apparent demise in the closing moments of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The Clone Wars animated series would later reveal that Papatine's Sith apprentice had survived, and the villain eventually returned to action thanks to some formidable cybernetic legs.
George Lucas originally planned to depict Maul as "the godfather of crime in the universe" and the Sith Master of Darth Talon in his Star Wars sequel trilogy. Disney decided to head down a different route, and after The Clone Wars, Maul returned in Star Wars Rebels. That's where his tale concluded after one final clash with Obi-Wan on Tatooine.
Solo: A Star Wars Story brought Maul back to a live-action setting, and had that movie received a sequel, chances are we'd have seen more of what he got up to as the leader of Crimson Dawn.
Unfortunately, it underperformed, leaving it up to this year's Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord, a new animated series, to fill in the gaps between The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Lucasfilm has shared a teaser for the show (via SFFGazette.com), confirming that the first trailer is heading our way tomorrow. There's some intriguing imagery in this promo, including a lightsaber battle and a new look at Maul before we hear his signature, sinister laugh.
"After the Clone Wars, Maul plots to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire," reads a brief synopsis for Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord. "In a new series set after the events of the final season of The Clone Wars, Maul rises again to lead the underworld factions."
That's all we have to go on until tomorrow's sneak peek. However, this sounds like exactly the type of series Star Wars fans have been waiting to see from Lucasfilm (especially as clones have well and truly run their course after The Bad Batch).
During a panel at last year's Star Wars Celebration in Japan, we learned that the series will explore Maul's childhood and the origin story of Darth Talon.
It's hard not to wish it were live-action, but the good news is that Sam Witwer, who first portrayed Maul in The Clone Wars and later reprised the role in Star Wars Rebels, is back to voice the iconic villain. He's made the character his own after taking over the role from The Phantom Menace's Peter Serafinowicz.
Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord debuts on Disney+ later this year.